P.R. Laws tit. 12, § 5101
The Constitution of Puerto Rico establishes that: “It shall be the public policy of the Commonwealth to conserve, develop, and use its natural resources in the most effective manner possible for the general welfare of the community.” The State shall use any means and measures necessary to achieve this purpose, in which all its economic, social, and environmental goals are unified towards sustainable development. The optimal use of our environment, taking into consideration its natural features, is an absolute necessity because of the insular nature of our territory, our high population density, the susceptibility of many areas to natural events such as floods and tides, and the deep impact of our actions. The conservation of forests, wetlands, and any other ecosystems on which our wildlife depends, among other natural resources, is therefore necessary to meet the social and economic needs of present and future generations of Puerto Ricans.
For the purpose of complying with the constitutional mandate regarding the conservation and use of our natural resources, and pursuant to public policies established to effectively achieve this goal, the Government of Puerto Rico hereby declares as public policy the preservation, restoration, and conservation of the area designated as the Northeast Ecological Corridor, or NEC, as well as its development, if possible, towards ecotourism and nature tourism activities. To achieve this, and aware of the economic challenges the Government of Puerto Rico currently faces, any public or patrimonial lands belonging to the Government of Puerto Rico, including all its departments and instrumentalities, is hereby initially designated as nature reserve in order to guarantee their preservation, restoration, and conservation, while simultaneously safeguarding the basis needed to achieve its sustainable development toward ecotourism and nature tourism activities, if possible, provided they are subject to and do not jeopardize the main goal, which is to protect the natural integrity of the NEC. Any submerged land, any land beneath navigable waters, as well as the water itself, located within the NEC, is also hereby designated as nature reserve including the waters just north of the NEC that are part of the coastal zone.
History —June 25, 2012, No. 126, § 2.